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New welding Job

01-30-2007, 04:42 PM

Today after mymath exam I went for an interview for a new welding place DME they do mostly stainless steele and mig and Tig welding so they offered me to come in like I was doing for my other shop and offered me there assistance to learn tig welding adn start on my log book skills. I am very happy about this They said they cant pay me unless I work for 4 or more hours because with the hour and a half they give me what can ya really get done? So I think I am going to go there im praying that it will lead toa summer job which they said could happen. I am also doing Cooperative education there for my second semester so I go for half a day and then i jsut go for my extra time after school not even having to leave Sounds like a good deal to me. They were saying they will do what they can to help me get into my college program if things work out for me while I am there because this place really is the shop of my dreams it really was the spitting image of it! I am one happy welder right now

Any advice about TIG welding will be greatly appreciated so I have the chance to try different things to see what works for me.

Comment

As far as GTAW, hints are like experience... they come with time, however maybe this could help you out to get started. Just remember to control the variables during the welding process. For example, the things you CAN control: (and no different than any other welding application) Joint design / preparation / application, heat input / voltage / amperage, travel speed, work angle, angle in the direction of travel, tugnsten grind, electrode stick out, gas cup size, filler rod size and application, manipulation, and for pete's sakes, get comfortable. Rest your wrists if you can. Sit down. Take the weight off of the torch by supporting the torch lines. Bend the filler to help feed it around pipe or other multi-sided weld configurations.
Other stuff: Use a gas lens for cabinet making and when in tight corners, this can stop air turbulence at the corners, or 'blanket with shielding gas' an inside corner with sharp angles. Don't run more than what is required for shielding gas. Warm your water-cooled torch up before welding if it is run off of tap water. The cold tap water running through the torch can create condensation inside the gas cup, leading to porosity problems when initally starting welding. Use an approved glycol in your water cooler to help prevent scale build-up in your torch lines, I've had torches overheat due to scale blockages. Keep your filler metal stored in a moisture free environment, and if necessary scotch-brite the oxides off the filler before using it. Fill your creators, and don't pull the torch away from the weld when you finish, let the post purge do it's job. Post purging protects the tugnsten and filler from contamination while they cool, and it also protects the weld puddle while it cools. Pre-purge the area before initiating the arc. Select the right tugnsten for the job, and the proper end preparation also. Pure Tugn has the lowest melting point to my knowledge, a 2% Thor can be used to weld Al and handle higher amperages, however the Thorium may de-alloy from the Tugnsten and be deposited into the weldment. Not so good for pressure / X-ray stuff, ok for cabinets and non-critcal welds.

I've missed a whole bunch of hints and things to consider, however these are some that are practiced by TIG welders I've met and that have been taught to me over the years.

BTW: TIG stands for Tugnsten Inert Gas. Good to remember (incase someone wants to know) if your course outline for welding only referes to the process as GTAW.

Comment

I did ti today! I tried TiIG welding, Its not that hand to do when your heats up I had it set to 130 to 140 for 12G I got very good welding going but then the owner told me to work at low amps like 90 then I seen how hard it got I kept moving a little to much and the tungston got stuck on the piece. I spent alot fo yesteray sharpening. But I was doing stainless which I really enjoyed I found that that kind of welding is really clean, not to much smoke (if bairly any). Are there very may bad things in stainless when being welded. This shop had very good ventlation so really you dont get any of the smo but still I would like to know for my own sake.

Next time I am there will take some of my beads hope and see what ya guys think and see if ya have any advice for how I can do better.